Super Cheap RT Cargo Basket

Was looking for a cheap RT cargo basket to put on top of my shell. Ideally we'd all prefer a powder coated aluminum rack/basket but it's not always in the budget. I originally found this basket on ebay for $70 but then I went to the manufacturers website, and found it for less than $25! And with a discount of %10 with email sign up, and free shipping, it came to $21 and change.

This is was so affordable that I had to give it a try. If its junk then I'm only out $20 and will save for something more rugged.

SPECS/DESCRIPTION

Dimension 48.4"L x 38"W x 4.5"H
Color Black
Material Premium Steel
Weight Capacity 170 Lbs
Shipping Weight 16.7 pounds
Package Dimension 49.5 x 5.3 x 3.5 inches

Sturdily Engineered: Made of heavy-duty steel with rugged powder coating that is rust, acid and corrosion resistant, this rooftop basket cargo carrier is built to be all weatherproof and long-lasting.

Massive Carrying Capacity: This car top carrier is designed to clear up about 170 lbs of weight from inside of your vehicle and is ideal for long road trips, camping and trekking trips, etc.

Lightweight Construction: Weighted only 16.76 pounds, this roof rack basket is amazingly lightweight so that it will not put extra strain on the top of your vehicle.

https://fieryred.com/products/universal-rooftop-cargo-basket-heavy-duty-cargo-roof-carrier-rack

 

Looks like you got the last one. Not on their site. Have pics of it on the truck and link to the eBay page?

 

Wow they were available this morning and I haven't posted them anywhere else.

Try ebay here and use the make an offer option

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153951664704

 

Shows as in stock for me. An interesting option for sure, great price as they aren't market to the overlander.

 

Any pics of it on your truck?

 

Not yet. Its enroute. I going to mount mount it as low as I can get it with hopefully just 1 inch spacers and some u bolts. Keep it budget friendly. I have q towers and those are sitting at 3.5 inches above the roof.

 

Ya that’s why I’m curious. I also have a shell and want to mount it as low as I can.

 

I'm also seeing them in stock still as well.

 

Sub’d

 

@Taco_life super cheap rack

 

Rack came today. Heres some initial impressions and photos. Not sure if I will assemble quite yet. I want to use thread locker on the bolts but I my assemble for more photos. Then reassemble with the bolts locked in.

Box delivered measured 49"x5.5". Weighs 17lbs. Came by UPS.

Everything is bagged separately and has a simple instruction page. Overall durability of the bars seems China made ( which it is) but doesnt seem like it will break in a week. They are coated steel parts. The coating seems thin and will need to have an eye kept on it as to catch any rust starting to form.

Everything arrived quickly and accounted for. No missing, bent or broken pieces.

Overall, for $21 and change shipped to your door, it's worth it for whatever you may use it on. Truck, car, utv etc.

 

Any pics of that bad boy sitting on your Tacoma?

 

Not yet. It's at a friend's. Trying to find a decent weather day that isnt 95% humidity so I can get my cap sanded and painted and the rack installed.

I have mixed feelings on the rack. It's certainly not "robust" but it's not a total POS either.

If you look at the assembly paper I posted a picture of, you can see 4 cross bars that don't have the black ends. The black ends represent a small fitted cap that will accept one of the bolts. 4 of the bars don't have those caps and just rest into cut outs on the insides of the rails of the rack. They don't fit tight and will rotate/ shimmy inside their cut out. I.e. hitting bumps may make them rattle.

Quick solution would be to wrap some electrical tape at either end of the 4 cross bars and tap them into the cut outs so they don't move.

Lastly my leer cap has a slight curve on the top and this rack, which I was planning on just bolting to the roof of the cap, won't sit level on the cap. It may actually need a rail on either side to rest on.

My yakima cross bars over the cab are 3.5" tall and the upper cross bars on the rack are 3.5" tall. I really wanted everything level and cap mounted rails may make it too high. Still trying to figure it all out.

I may zip over to my friends and just throw it on so you can see how much room it takes up. It looks small on a 6ft cap. I've turned it 180 degrees as well and almost like the look if it like that (perpendicular to the cap).

 

Also may ditch the cap. There was a previous crack hack job done on one of the corners I missed when inspecting it. I got the cap relatively cheap, but this crack is starting to get worse and it throwing off the alignment of the cap rear window/door. I may just go bed rack. Either way I'll get a picture soon so I can finish this thread up.

 

Not showing on their website for me but still up on ebay. The pics make this look fairly lightweight but hard to tell just from pics. At the cheaper price (or maybe even at $70) this could be an option to help me get my cargo box mounted since the spacing doesn't work for my OEM roof rack.

 

You're right, I'm getting error 404 on the website now. If you choose ebay, I believe there is a make an offer option. I would say this rack is worth maybe $50 tops. Double check the dimensions before you buy. Also, the included u-bolt style clamps with this rack are made to clamp to cross bars. I don't see any on the cab of your truck and you would need to add that to your budget.

 

I have the OEM rack which has the crossbars integrated into it. They fold into the rails and then flip out when needed. Pretty sweet setup actually with the exception that they are a fixed distance from each other and won't work for things like the cargo box I have which requires the crossbars to be closer together.

 

Wow that is a nice feature. The cross bars are spaced 6" apart so if your factory cross bars are any combination of 6" increments you should be good to go. The rack is 4.5 inches at its highest so it's one of the slimmer options out there. And weighs 17lbs. It's quite light. Amazon has reviews for same rack if you want to read some of those. I think a few people aren't very mechanically inclined and had a little trouble with assembly. I thought the assembly was easy. After tightening all of the bolts the rack had a slight twist to it but was easy to set straight and level with a firm tweak in the opposite direction.